Zenith
by Inkognito97
Summary: With a start Qui-Gon Jinn sat up in his bed. His lightsaber was already in his hand and he was franticly looking around his darkened bedroom. Upon discovering that there was no immediate danger, the long haired Jedi Master let himself fall back in his soft pillows with a groan. This was the fifth night in a row that he would awaken from a dream. Part 26 of the ABC of Obi-Wan Kenobi


AN: I do not own Star Wars or any of its characters. They all belong to Disney and I just borrow and play with them.

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Zenith

With a start Qui-Gon Jinn sat up in his bed. His lightsaber was already in his hand and he was franticly looking around his darkened bedroom. Upon discovering that there was no immediate danger, the long haired Jedi Master let himself fall back in his soft pillows with a groan. This was the fifth night in a row that he would awaken from a dream or a feeling and upon wakening, there was absolutely nothing.

He sighed and pulled the blanked away and then swung his legs out of the bed. He knew he wouldn't find sleep anytime soon and instead of lying there doing nothing, he could at least try to find something useful to do. The tall man yawned heartily and stretched his muscles and then made his way towards his window. He peeked through the gaps in the shutter and found that Coruscant's sky was bare of clouds. It was unusual for the great city to have such a clear sky, but once in a while it happened. The full-moon stood high on the dark sky – in its zenith – and a look at the chrono told the Jedi Master that it was barely past midnight. The sunrise was still hours away. He barely kept himself from sighing again and quickly washed and dressed himself.

The rest of the apartment he shared with his young Padawan was silent and dark as well. The Jedi Master refused to switch on the light for his Padawan's sake. The boy was a light sleeper and once he was awake, he was an insomniac just like his Master. Qui-Gon huffed at that thought. He had not wanted to see it at first, but he and Obi-Wan had a lot of things in common. Granted, the young boy had adapted a few of Qui-Gon's habits, but it still counted. It was quite endearing actually, when Obi-Wan copied some of his antics. Xanatos had never done so and Feemor had already been too old and his own man.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Deciding that he could look over the report Obi-Wan had written – not that he really needed to, but he liked the way the young man wielded words like he wielded his lightsaber, namely with grace and great skill – Qui-Gon grabbed the datapad from the living room table and was about to sit on his old, but still comfortable beige couch. He was however stopped by a strange sound that had come from somewhere in the apartment. Confused and alert, the tall Jedi put the datapad back on the table and laid his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber and listened.

The sound came again and this time the tall male had a direction from where it had come from. He turned and on silent feet crept forward. If he was not mistaken, the sound had come from his Padawan's bedroom. What in the Force was Obi-Wan doing in there that could cause such a strange cheeping noise? Furthermore, why was his Padawan up and awake at such an hour?

Qui-Gon let go of his lightsaber since he felt no danger coming from his Padawan's bedroom. He silently walked towards the door however until he was standing right in front of it. With a fluid motion he stroke away his brown hair from his ear and laid it against the door, listening intently.

The noise definitely came out of Obi-Wan's room and it sounded like it belonged to an animal. Where in the galaxy would his Padawan have gotten an animal at such an hour? And why would he bring it with him into their apartment?

Deciding that it would be the best course of action to simply enter and ask his young charge, Qui-Gon slowly opened the door, making sure that – whatever was in there – would not escape. Once in the room, he was surprised to see nothing. The moonlight came through the barely closed shutter and illuminated the room in a soothing light. As usual the desk was tidy, with only two or three datapads lying on it. The shelves were neatly as well, not a single object was lying around. The only thing that was wrong however, was the absence of his Padawan.

Qui-Gon had seen movement before completely entering and he knew that the animal had to be under the bed. But where was Obi-Wan?

The long haired Jedi shook his head and decided that he would take care of the little intruder first. He slowly lowered himself to his knees so that he would not look too intimidating. He sent a calming and soothing wave towards the bed and after a little while a nose peeked out from under the bed. Apparently the little animal decided that it was save to come out and soon the nose was joined by the rest of the furry head and then more and more of the creature appeared.

"A dog," Qui-Gon asked himself. The dog stepped into the moonlight and only then did the Jedi Master really realise what his little friend here was. "Not a dog, a little wolf puppy," he held out his hand for the pup to sniff. The grey mammal crept forward, its green-blue eyes never leaving the Jedi Master, but Qui-Gon kept completely still. He knew how to deal with wild animals, thanks to all the 'pathetic life-forms' he had picked up in his lifetime.

"Hello there, little guy," Qui-Gon greeted the pup when it began sniffing and then licking his hand. A high pitched bark was his answer. The pup jumped away and lowered its head, eyes still on Qui-Gon. Its rear was in the air and its tail waggling enthusiastically. It was clearly an invitation to play and ever the animal lover, Qui-Gon chuckled and pretended to try and catch the small furball.

"I wonder, do you have a name?" Qui-Gon asked. He had not expected the wolf to react, but it suddenly ceased the game and sat down, tilting his head to one side. It was quite a sight to look at, one ear standing up, the other dropped and then those big blue-green eyes.

"I take that as a 'no' then," a bark was his answer, "Alright, how about Scruffy?" It was the first thing that came to his mind. Qui-Gon had never been good with giving names towards his little strays, that was usually a job for his friends or for Obi-Wan. The wolf lowered his head and growled.

"No? Ok, how about... Silver?" it would certainly match the fur. The pup laid down completely and put his paws on his head, whimpering. "You are not making it easy... we could go for something from my home-planet... Ben?" Obi-Wan had once used that name while they were on a mission, pretending to be a travelling father-son pair. Roughly translated it meant something like 'my child'. Qui-Gon had found it fitting and Obi-Wan had been happy with it too. Immediately the animal was on his paws again, tail wiggling and jumping happily around the tall Jedi Master. Qui-Gon chuckled at the animal's antics. It seemed to be in perfect health and once more he wondered why Obi-Wan had brought it into his room. Speaking of his apprentice, where WAS Obi-Wan? Qui-Gon reached out with the Force, but could find no trace of his wayward apprentice. A relatively large amount of the ginger haired Padawan's Force presence was around the pup, but that was to be expected. With a sigh Qui-Gon got back on his feet and left the bedroom. He noticed that the little pup was following him, two steps behind him and one to his left, exactly where a certain Padawan usually walked.

"Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon called out into the apartment, but there was no answer. He had expected nothing else, for the apartment was completely silent and there was no light in any of the rooms. Only the pup barked and wiggled with his tail, from where he sat next to Qui-Gon's feet. The tall Jedi Master quickly made a mental list of Obi-Wan's favourite places in the temple and planed the quickest route to check them. Something was wrong. Obi-Wan would not leave the apartment without leaving a note, besides, his lightsaber was still in his bedroom. Qui-Gon had spotted it while playing with the wolf pup.

Almost automatically he moved towards the door, only noticing that he was followed at the last second.

"Oh no, you are going to stay here," he ordered and looked down at the small animal. Green-blue eyes looked pleadingly up at him. He mentally strengthened himself against this look. He was a grown up Jedi Master for Force's sake. He would not let a puppy get the better of him. "No, stay. You are NOT coming with me." The pup whimpered, but the Jedi ignored it and opened the door. Of course the wolf tried to escape as well, but a booted foot stopped him from doing so.

"Don't make me lock you in the fresher, Ben," Qui-Gon threatened. "I am certain I have a lash lying around here too, somewhere," he added as an afterthought.

Again the pup just whimpered and looked pleadingly up at him. His paw was on the boot and with his head he rubbed against Qui-Gon's leg, but the Jedi would not bend. He grabbed the animal in the neck and carried him towards the fresher, where he quickly dumped Ben in the tub. Hastily he shut the door and leaned against it. Almost immediately the whimpering and howling began and the Jedi Master silently begged that no one would hear it and wake up. The howling was followed by a scratching noise and the long haired Jedi was aware that his charge had climbed out of the tub and was scratching against the door.

"You are not getting out of there," he said and without paying further attention towards the pup, Qui-Gon left the apartment.

* * *

Qui-Gon was greatly frustrated when he entered his apartment again. He had searched every place he could think of where his Padawan might be, but there was no trace of him. It was as if Obi-Wan had simply vanished. Qui-Gon knew that this was not possible and he knew his Padawan would never leave the temple without telling him, but he still could not find the ginger haired boy.

With a huff he sat on his couch. If he was completely honest with himself, then he had to admit that he was quite worried about Obi-Wan. Where could the boy be? Why could he not feel him in the Force? Surely there has not happened anything to him, right?

A small whimper brought the tall man out of his musing and he suddenly remembered the puppy he had trapped in the fresher. Praying that he would not need to renovate it after leaving the animal there unsupervised for so long, he opened the door. To his surprise, nothing was touched by the furry beast that had curled itself into a ball on the carpet under the basin. Everything was like it was supposed to be, nothing was destroyed and not even the door had signs of the scratching attack it had endured.

Slowly the tall Jedi crouched down again and he offered his hand towards the furball. Ben did not react, just gazed at him with his sad and betrayed blue-green eyes. His ears were close to his head and in general he looked as if he had been beaten.

"Come here boy, come here Ben," Qui-Gon called the pup. The only movement was a twitch of the puppy's ears, but the wolf made no further sign to comply. "I'm sorry alright? But I couldn't have a wolf running around the temple. You could have been lost, hm..." Ben lifted his head. "Come here, my boy," the Jedi tried again and this time the pup got up. He stretched and yawned, baring his little teeth, and then trotted towards the still outstretched hand. He nibbled at the fingers, without hurting Qui-Gon and seemingly satisfied he rubbed against it. Qui-Gon got the hint and began patting and scratching the pup behind his ears, his stomach and then everywhere he could reach with and overly excited puppy.

"Are we alright?" Qui-Gon asked and he almost felt ridiculous, had his little friend not barked as an answer. "Then come on," he stood back up and walked back towards the couch.

The tall Jedi seated himself on his couch again and the pup sat at his feet, looking up expectantly. "Up with you," and with that the taller male grabbed the young wolf and lifted him on his lap, where he immediately settled down, cuddling closer to the human's warmth. Qui-Gon chuckled. He put his large hand on the animal's head and gently stroked the fur there. His leg began to move automatically once the tall Jedi started scratching him behind his ear.

"Oh Ben, what kind of Master am I? I cannot even find my own Padawan..." he sighed and the pup lifted his head, his ears standing up in attention, "He closed the bond on his part and I cannot find him in his favourite spots in the temple. I think he is hiding from me... and here I thought we were getting along. Then again, I was not very open with him. I am unable to express how much I really care for him and every time I want to say or proof it, I keep hurting him or pushing him away."

The pup whimpered when Qui-Gon bowed his head. He sent the little animal a small smile. Ben lifted himself up and stood on his rear legs and his fore-paws rested in the man's chest. He was leaning up and gently licked at the man's face.

"Thanks Ben... but I am still a terrible Master..." he was surprised when the puppy suddenly growled loudly right into his face. He even bared his teeth. The next moment the furball had jumped from Qui-Gon's lap and ran back into Obi-Wan's bedroom.

"Hey," Qui-Gon exclaimed and quickly followed the wolf, not wanting him to damage anything, especially not his Padawan's starship models.

The Jedi Master didn't see the animal at first but a shuffling under the bed caught his attention. A moment later Ben appeared again and he had something that looked like a photo book in his snout. He let it go and set expectantly next to it and curious as Qui-Gon was, he reached out and took the book in his hand. He seated himself on Obi-Wan's mattress and the puppy jumped up too, curling himself against the tall Jedi's leg. One hand on the puppy and the other on the book that rested on his lap, Qui-Gon looked through the many photos in the book. The first photos showed Obi-Wan with his friends or when he won a tournament for Initiates. At some point the pictures changed. Obi-Wan was older on them and Qui-Gon chuckled fondly at the picture of his Padawan, who proudly presented his new braid to the camera and whoever took that picture.

He was surprised when the next pages did not show Obi-Wan at all, but rather pictures of himself, sparing or negotiating, with some of his pathetic life forms or just standing around. Obi-Wan had made some notes next to each photo. The notes usually contained date and occasion, sometimes a cheeky comment as well. It was funny, he had not spotted Obi-Wan taking a picture of him once.

Outstanding however was a photo of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan together. Qui-Gon could not remember ever taking a photo with his Padawan together and upon closer inspection he knew why. He was sleeping on the couch in a sitting position, with Obi-Wan tugged close to his side. One of Qui-Gon's arms was draped protectively over the young male's shoulders and held him close. It was clear from the way the rest of the page was decorated – with little doodles – that it was Obi-Wan's favourite picture. A warm feeling erupted in his chest. Obi-Wan did not think him a miserable Master.

A small paw landed on Qui-Gon's hand and he was brought out of his musing. He looked down into the pup's face and for the first time he really looked at the small being. Blue-green eyes shimmered in the moonlight and they reminded Qui-Gon so much of... Obi-Wan. The tall Jedi gasped and quickly yet carefully put the photo album aside on the nightstand. He then lifted the pup up to be on eyelevel with him and the wolf patiently allowed him.

Suddenly everything made sense. The puppy's strange behaviour while trotting after him, the fact he knew about the album, the barking when he had called for his Padawan and the fact that said teenager was nowhere to be found.

"Obi-Wan?" he asked hesitantly. Immediately the wolf's tail began to move and a bark was his answer. Qui-Gon huffed and shook his head, "But how?" The animal, no Obi-Wan, whimpered and tilted his head. Again the Jedi Master could only shake his head. Words had completely abandoned him at this point. He let himself fall onto his Padawan's bed and laid the puppy on his chest, who immediately curled up there, facing Qui-Gon.

"So," the Jedi began hesitantly and Obi-Wan's ears perked up, "you don't think I am a bad Master?" The wolf pup gave him a pointed glare and then motioned with his snout towards the album. It was clear what he wanted to say.

"You know Padawan, hero worshipping is not exactly the Jedi way," he said in a teasing tone. Obi-Wan growled playfully.

* * *

Qui-Gon grunted when he opened his eyes again and was greeted by the bright sun of Coruscant. He immediately closed his eyes and reached out with the Force to completely shut the shutters in his Padawan's bedroom.

He knew that at some point, he had moved to lie completely on the younger male's bed and he had cradled the puppy against his chest, he didn't remember falling asleep however. Something else was greatly amiss here too. There was definitely no puppy snuggling up against him. Neither was it fur his hand was resting on.

The tall Jedi Master blinked his eyes open and gazed down. He was met with spiky ginger hair and a sigh of relief escaped him. He noticed that the teenager was wearing sleep pants, but no shirt, which explained the skin he felt under his hand. Obi-Wan was still soundly asleep.

"Morning Master," or maybe he was not. Qui-Gon had never been happier hearing the familiar and beloved accent.

"Good morning little one," he returned the greeting. "So... yesterday?" It was not exactly yesterday, more like a few hours away, but the long haired Jedi could not bring himself to care.

"Full moon," Obi-Wan sleepily mumbled. One of his ever changing eyes peeked up at his Master, "full moon tends to bring out the... beast in me." The last part was said with a wink and a cheeky tone.

"How did you keep this from me? And maybe even more importantly, why?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Well," the teenager blushed, "usually I take something against it, but I might have forgotten that yesterday." He cleared his throat, "And I was afraid that you might consider me a freak..."

The tall Jedi did not allow this thought much room to take root. He tightened his arm around the teenager and pulled him closer against him. "I think it is quite... endearing. You know, this way you fit in the 'pathetic life form' category, as you call it."

Obi-Wan huffed, but snuggled up to Qui-Gon, rubbing his cheek against the fabric of his tunic. Now that the older male thought about it, Obi-Wan had often reminded him of a dog or at least a puppy with SOME of his behaviour. The way he stretched when he woke up for example.

"I love you Master... and never think you are worthless or a bad teacher, because you aren't. A bad Master would have given me to an animal shelter or a zoo right now."

Qui-Gon did not like the serious way the last part was spoken in, "Don't worry my little pup, I would never give you away." He lifted his free hand and experimentally started scratching behind his Padawan's ear, who immediately leaned into the touch. The older male was highly amused when he felt one of his protege's legs trembling and moving against his. He was about to make a comment about the missing of a purring sound for the picture to be perfect, when Obi-Wan began to do just that.

Qui-Gon laughed when the teenager's eyes suddenly opened again and his face became red with embarrassment. "You are certainly something, my little pup." The ginger haired male only smiled. "If you are the pup," Qui-Gon hesitantly began, "what am I then? The alpha leader?"

Obi-Wan's blue-green eyes sparkled, "You could say that... but only as long as I am not an adult and have not challenged you."

"Brat," Qui-Gon laughed. "Who else does know about this?"

"Only Master Yoda and the healer who usually prepares the medicine. Nobody else was supposed to know. People react... repellent and disgusted when they know." There was grief and sadness in his voice, but then his face lit up again, "But you find it interesting of course. I knew you would not abandon me."

"Never!" and he fully meant it. "Does it hurt? The transformation I mean."

"It just a tickling sensation," Obi-Wan answered. He hesitated, "I don't like the medicine though. It makes me itchy and it tastes and smells bad. It also feels weird to force it down, you know..."

"Then don't take the medicine anymore," blue-green eyes stared up at him, "You should carry some around, just in case, but when we are alone or in the temple, I see no reason for you to take it. I am fine with my apprentice letting out his beastly cuddle-side once in a while."

"Thank you Master," his smile could have rivalled the sun.

Qui-Gon smiled as well. With that, there was only one thing left to do. "Padawan?"

"Yes Master?"

"Smile," and in the next moment a clicking sound could be heard.

"You have taken a photo? While I am half-naked?" Obi-Was asked laughing

"Especially because you are half-naked..." he wriggled with his eyebrows. Obi-Wan pushed at his chest, still laughing.

In one motion, Qui-Gon had sat up, stretched and grabbed the camera he had hovered above them. "And from now on, you can make pictures of me while I am aware of what you are doing," he winked.

"Well then," Obi-Wan had stretched as well, looking like a dog while doing so, and took the camera from his Master's larger hands, "smile, my Master." He had seated himself close to Qui-Gon, who had thrown an arm over the smaller male's shoulders and held the camera in front of them and when Qui-Gon noticed the tail that had not yet vanished, he did not mention it.

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I hoped you liked the idea and this fic. I would really appreciate it, if you take the time to leave a review!^^


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